Showing posts with label Forgiveness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Forgiveness. Show all posts

Monday, December 3, 2012

Why Forgiveness Is So Important

How to obtain forgiveness for one's sins is a topic that interests many people. No one is perfect, and there are going to come times when a person needs to realize that he or she did something wrong and thus needs to seek forgiveness from God and/or other people. There are different ways to obtain forgiveness, and they include praying, doing good works, and realizing what one did that was wrong and not repeating it in the future.

To begin, a person can be forgiven for his or her wrongdoings by praying to God. For instance, a person may pray to God to see if He will forgive him or her for lying to a friend. Praying provides peace of mind and assures God that the person who did something wrong understands the extent of what he or she did.

Doing good works can also help a person to achieve being forgiven. A person who does wrong can compensate for his or her actions by striving to lead a good life filled with good works. To illustrate this, a person may be looking to be forgiven for treating people in an indifferent manner over the years. He or she may look to turn a new leaf and volunteer to be a big brother or sister to a youth or more in need. Acting as a good role model for a youngster in need will ultimately overshadow a person's past as long as he or she does not go back to his or her old ways.

Last but not least, a person can look to not repeat the same mistake in the future when he or she is seeking forgiveness. For example, a man may have hurt his friend by making fun of her weight. He could feel terrible about this and strive to never hurt this or any friend again. He then may think about offering people compliments instead of insults in the future.

Everyone has heard the old adage that says forgive and forget. A lot of people have trouble doing this sort of thing, especially when they have been deeply hurt or negatively affected by another person. However, forgiveness is something that we all must learn to have in our hearts. Jesus said while nailed to the cross: Forgive them Father for they know not what they do. That is a powerful example that we all must follow.

Have you been hurt by someone who you care deeply for? Do you harbor negative feelings about it? Did you know that these kinds of feeling will bring you down and eat at you until those simple feelings of hurt turn into another more powerful emotion like hatred and anger? Being able to forgive someone for something they did to you is by far the strongest power you could have. This makes you stronger and a much better person.

God thinks about the way you forgive others when you ask to be forgiven for the sins you are guilty of. Do not hold in feelings against another person, no matter what they have done to you or someone who you care about. If God can forgive these same people, so can you.

If you do not forgive those that have sinned against you, then you are also committing a sin. God says to forgive those that have sinned against you so that you will be forgiven. This is a quite simple scripture, but it can be really hard for those that have been really bad.

If you are having trouble with the feelings you have that someone else had caused, then pray to God about it. Ask him for the help you need in being able to forgive another person for the things they night have done to hurt you.

In conclusion, there are different ways for a person to obtain forgiveness for his or her sins. These include praying, doing good works, and realizing what he or she did wrong and not repeating it in the future.

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The Faith In Forgiveness

I'm not sure if any of us doubt that sometimes it takes a great deal of emotional strength to forgive, besides times when God miraculously graces us with that power.

I would suggest that that strength is faith.

Faith, as an action-oriented word, requires us to go forward on our vision, on a hope which remains invisible, in this case to forgive someone for something they have done against us or someone or something we love. Such a task as faith, in the gracious realm of forgiveness, seems a big risk.

But if we don't take that risk we can't please God, for God is pleased when the act in faith (Hebrews 11:6). When we make the leap toward reconciliation, even if that doesn't transpire, we know we have done our bit. We have extended our grace. And reconciliation is not cut off because of us.

This is the faith in forgiveness - to go ahead in seeking a settlement without needing the other person to make a move. This takes the magnificence of sacrificial courage.

THE BASIS OF OUR FAITH

Faith seems hard at this point. It seems action-oriented against the backdrop of an invisible hope. It's not an attractive option given that most of the faithless seem to get their own way.

But we forget the basis of our faith is the Lord Jesus Christ. We don't envisage our action being done for anyone but Jesus. When we obey God, by acting for the audience of One in this way, we find that the faith to forgive is much easier.

It's no good that we make life harder for ourselves than it needs to be.

We too easily forget to run our forgiveness through the filter of grace, so the bitter dregs will be left long behind. We can only do this through a conscious submission before God.

Faith and God go hand in hand. We cannot show true faith - that which is 'good' and etched in truth - unless we draw upon God's power and that requires us to surrender our power.

When we remember the basis of our faith, our faith is easier to practice. It is impossible otherwise. Faith cannot work without God.

***

The secret to a good life is faith. Faith and God go hand in hand. Therefore, if we wish to have the good life, a forgiving life, we need faith and we need God.

© 2012 S. J. Wickham.

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